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223 REVIEWS R. W. GEORGE & Diana S. JONES, A revision of the fiddler crabs of Australia (Ocypodinae: Uca). Rec. Western Australian Mus., (suppl.) 14: 1-99, 20 colour photographs, 54 figures, 1 iden- tification chart. ISBN 7244 8613 5. A $ 5.00. Perth, 1982. In her taxonomic conclusions on the Australian species of Uca, Crane (Fiddler Crabs of the World, 1975) relied on her personal collections and those of American and European museums. In contrast, the booklet of R. W. George and D. S. Jones (both: Western Australian Museum, Perth) mainly uses the wealth of the Uca collections of four Australian institutions. Almost 6000 specimens were examined in all. On the basis of this material 17 Australian species of Uca are recognized, of which 11 are endemic and 3 are new. Two additional species, namely U. australiae Crane and U. crassipes (Adams & White) are included in the key as well as in the descriptions, though not regarded as confirmed Australian forms. While U. crassipes is mentioned as doubtfully recorded, U. australiae, based on the male holotype only, is called a "doubtful taxon" (p. 36) in addition. A third taxon, U. bellator minima Crane, is regarded as a synonym of U. signata (Hess) for good reasons. Of the newly described species, one (U. hirsutimanus) is close to U. signata, while the two others (U. elegans and U. pavo) are regarded as closely related to both U. dussumieri (H. Milne Edwards) and U. capricornis Crane. It should be mentioned, however, that the gonopod figured of U. elegans represents quite a different type, very unlike those of the three other allied species. Though not explicitly designed for this purpose the revision is, nevertheless, a contribution to the general discussion of Uca systematics. Using mainly characters of the male's gonopods and major cheliped the 19 species mentioned are grouped into five informal assemblages - mainly but not fully along the lines that Crane (1975) proposed. Fortunately, George & Jones desist not only from using premature formal subgeneric names but also from using the often unsound subspecific groupings of Crane. The important range extensions indicated by the authors reveal a zone of overlap (at least within the Northern Territory) for U. capricornis and U. dussumieri and for U. flammula and U. coarctata, respectively. These species were named U. dussumieri ca;bricornis, U. d. dussumieri, U coarctata flammula and U. c. coarctata by Crane (1975). Finally, the booklet is not only an apt taxonomic revision but also a very carefully prepared aid for the identification of Uca specimens in the laboratory as well as in the field. In addition to the key, there are many instructive drawings (referring to males and females), colour photographs of live or freshly killed specimens, a glossary of terms and characters and a pull-out identification chart with standardized drawings of chelae, carapace and front as well as colour notes for each species. All this makes the book valuable not only for taxonomists but for any zoologist visiting Australian seashores. H. O. VON HAGEN
Crustaceana – Brill
Published: Jan 1, 1983
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